Hey OP, this exact thing happened to me!! Almost exact, I can relate so much and my heart broke when he broke up with me because of his depression and needing to learn how to be happy by himself. I wanted to figure it out, stay with him and support him, I wanted us to be a team working through it. We had been together for 6 years and I was devastated.

In the end, we broke up, and I have never been more grateful for anything in my life. I hadn’t realize how much of an emotional wringer I had put myself through by supporting him those last couple years. I couldn’t see the relationship clearly until I was out of it. I let my love for him cloud that the relationship really wasn’t fulfilling for me and I felt more of a caregiver than a partner. Not to mention I didn’t want to stay with a partner who wasn’t 100% “all in” with me.

A year later now I have literally never been happier and feel like I met the guy of my dreams. Everything is so so much better. I hadn’t realized a relationship could be like this.

I know how much it hurts. I know you love him. Please let him go, and find a man who wants to fight for you in his life. It took a lot of guts for him to admit that to you and I think you need to trust that he’s thought it through, that he knows what’s best for himself.

A poem I love. It may be time to drop some keys for the both of you. Just because a relationship ended doesn’t mean it was a failure. Who never know what’s around the corner.

“The small woman

Builds cages for everyone

She knows,

While the Sage,

Who has to duck her head

When the moon is low,

Keeps dropping keys all night long

For the

Beautiful

Rowdy

Prisoners.”

-Hafiz